This invention relates to a side spill-plate apparatus to accommodate a cutter cable or a cutter chain which surrounds the cutter cable for a mining machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for transferring a length of cable from the side spill-plate apparatus to a mining machine, particularly a cutter drum type which traverses along the length of the spill-plate housing.
It is known in the art to attach side spill plates onto the stow side of a face conveyor. The spill plates are provided with a trough-shaped trunking along the side thereof which faces away from the face conveyor. This trunking has an open top for accommodating the cutter cable or the cable chain which surrounds the cutter cable. Traversing along the side of the spill plate is the drum cutter which is provided with a projection to form the so-called cable reversing means that extends over the open top of the trunking to lift the cable from the trunking and transfer it to the mining machine where the end of the cable is connected to the frame of the drum cutter. The end of the cable chain, when it surrounds the cutter cable, is also transferred to the machine frame.
A side spill plate defines a working space at the stowing side of the face conveyor. A relatively high side spill plate must be employed when releasing material from thick coal seams because of the large muck pile that results from the winning operation. This prevents overdamping and reduces the risk of accidents. When the dimensions of the side spill plate are such that the plate projects beyond the top edge of the machine frame, it is necessary that the cable which is guided from the stow side over the spill plate is first directed downwardly and then between the spill plate and the machine body at right angles toward the latter with a very small radius. There is a specific minimum value to this bending radius because of the relatively large cable diameter. The distance between the machine frame and the side spill plate must be adapted to the minimum bending radius for the cable and, therefore, this distance must be larger than usual despite the need for minimizing this distance in order to reduce the width of the space required for the traversing movement by the mining machine. This also enlarges the area of the mine roof which must be supported.
Known forms of side spill plates are subject to certain disadvantages which arise not only when working a thick mine seam but also the known spill plates are unusable for working a mine seam which has a substantial angle of inclination. In this regard, there is the risk that the cable or cable chain will become upwardly kinked and pushed out of the cable trunking due to the resultant force component from the downwardly-oriented weight of the cable.